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I fly a lot.

Almost every month.

But there’s a problem.

I became ‘a nervous flyer’.

I freak out when turbulence strikes.

In fact, while  writing these words, I am on the plane going from Bali to Doha.

I have ordered my third whisky to tame my nerves.

I have done a bunch of meditations and visualisations already.

I have ended up listening to yoga as my last resort of peace.

(Seriously? … I know right)

1. QUESTIONING

In the past year, flying has become a contemplation of life… and well… death…

Besides giving mecramps in my stomach, trembling hands and a pumping heart, these moments of turbulence really get me thinking about the way I lead my life:

Am I living it to the fullest?

Whom do I love the most?

Have I wasted much time on meaningless activities?

Have I come to express my talents and skills to their maximum potential?

Have I allowed myself to LIVE: be crazy, love, work, create, travel…?

Have I allowed myself to wake up on Monday morning, ditch work, swim in t...

Much like everybody else, I am cautiously observing the geopolitical situation in the world and cannot ignore the shadows of the 1930s. It is getting dark - you’d have to be living in a cave not to see it.

Here is the danger, however. The media won’t just allow  darkness to exist as it is,  they will push it to levels of paranoia or fear (well, both walk arm-in-arm). It is convenient because they are both paralysing.

I often feel the temptation to give in when I open the papers and hear the news. But, once you are in the darkness and fear, it is much harder to act against it - if not impossible.

So, here  I remind myself of Osho’s words that darkness is merely the absence of light.

Be the light - whatever it means to you in your environment.

Define what light means to you - it doesn’t have to be spiritual, it can be a metaphor that helps you define your actions.

For me, it means stepping up and continuing my hero’s journey to counteract the fear.

What does it mean for you to ...

These 9 questions are good for scraping the surface and going deep: having a check-in with yourself of where you are at in your life, where you are stuck, where you are in flow and what actions you need to take.

A lot of people blame their circumstances for the lack of inspiration to take action in life.

I hear a lot from my friends and clients: ‘Well, if I could travel as much as you do, I’d also be inspired and happy’.

But travelling isn’t the root of the problem.

First, it’s the mindset, of course - but that’d become a whole book if I were to elaborate on it.

Secondly, it’s people. The people you surround yourself with. If your circle of friends has barely changed in the past 10 years, it is no surprise that you are getting little inspiration from your environment.

I am acutely aware that I am the average of the five people I surround myself with. I truly believe this theory.

When I noticed that all of my friends in Bali have moved elsewhere and I wasn’t being challenged or inspired, I went through all of my contacts and friends of friends and set up calls with the five most inspiring people. Most of whom were way wealthier, more successful and inspiring than me - and that was preci...

Clarity and knowing often don’t come from books or other people.

At the very best, they reflect what you already know or have inside of you.

Whenever others are coaching, advising and guiding you, they are doing so through their own particular prism of understanding and conviction. Through their guidance - however well-intended - they will always seek to confirm their identity (mostly, that’s a subconscious process). And there’s nothing wrong in that. It’s natural. The influences that we have on each other are what make us grow and create all sorts of positive triggers in our personal evolution.

Yet it’s important to stay aware of the limitations of the advice of others. Realising that, I began using writing as a tool in my work with people.

Over time, I understood that we already have all the knowledge in us to make every important decision in our lives - we just need to clear the way for it.

This is where writing comes in handy.

This is why I write everything out.

I believe...

I recently gave a talk to 70 people about authenticity and integrity, and my own journey to discovering it.

Before I went on stage, I gave myself permission to be brutally honest and open - so that my openness might inspire the openness of those listening.

I began sharing my journey - how I ended up moving to Bali, how I discovered what mattered to me the most - family, how I lost some people I loved, how I created and built my businesses, how I have been travelling the world.  

People listened. Really listened.

It was real. I left my ego behind at the door. I didn’t care about ‘me’. I cared about the common denominator of my story, the aspects of it that people could relate to and be  inspired by.

I knew I was choosing vulnerability. Consciously. I knew it was provocative but connecting.

QUOTE: Choose vulnerability. Do it deliberately. It is provocative but connecting.

People asked me questions that eventually led me to sharing my greatest loss in life.

I could barely hold b...

Everyone is a brand nowadays. We are getting personal, we are getting intimate, we are sharing who we really are.

The creation of a personal brand is a necessity, whether you are knitting sweaters or producing solar energy panels.

How can you  start creating your personal brand?

First, choose truth, your truth, instead of illusion.

What do I mean?

I am convinced that to build something truly authentic in business, you have to know  how to be truly authentic in your personal life.

Business is changing. Corporations are dull. We care about your story. Your struggles. Your lessons. Your values.

You have to be honest enough with yourself to start with and you have to understand what you stand for in your own life, and then let that transpire in your brand and what you choose to do with it.

In this day and age - however uncertain it may be economically and politically - we have the privilege of being able to  combine money flow with purpose - the two don’t have to be separate anym...

Joseph Campbell writes about a hero and his journey.

You are a hero too.

I am as well.

I have also met many heroes on my travels.

A hero travels to distant lands, slaying dragons, fighting darkness in the world and often within  himself, entering the most scary of  caves and, by  doing so, transforming himself. (For each of us these are metaphoric representations of challenges that we encounter along the way).

A hero never returns home as he left. He always returns changed.

But, for a hero to travel far and wide and to be able to slay  dragons and face himself, he has to know his home.

Knowing one’s home is different from being born there.

It means feeling the strongest connection to his land, his roots, his parents and his ancestors, so that he is able to withstand the battles, the challenges and the tests that the gods throw on him throughout his journey.

A hero who doesn’t have a home can never achieve his full potential.

Every hero has parents (no matter who they are) a...